What you think does matter

My name is Samantha Blake, and my high school just became ground zero for a war no one else seems to notice. Vampires, werewolves, and monsters—yeah, the kind from scary movies—are real. And they go to   my school . It started during third-period biology. I was dissecting a frog, trying not to gag, when Jayden, the guy who sat in the back, bolted out of his seat. "Mr. Dyer, can I go to the nurse? I feel sick," he said, clutching his stomach. Jayden was one of those quiet, keeps-to-himself guys. But something about the way he moved felt...off. His steps were too smooth, like he was gliding. "Go ahead," Mr. Dyer replied, barely looking up. Jayden shot a glance at Vanessa, who was sitting two rows over. She stiffened, her blue eyes narrowing into slits. They stared at each other for a long moment, like they were talking without words. Weird. At lunch, I sat at my usual table with Mia, my best friend, and Eric, who always stole fries off my tray. Today, though, neither ...

I stared at the ceiling, trying to ignore the creaks and groans of our old house. I wasn’t scared—no, not scared—because monsters weren’t real. That’s what my dad always said. “Big boys aren’t afraid of the dark, Simon. There’s nothing there.” But tonight, the shadows seemed different, deeper somehow. My bed felt smaller, like the darkness was closing in around me. My parents had gone to an important dinner, leaving me with Sarah, a quiet girl who barely said two words since they’d left. She sat glued to the TV downstairs while I was stuck up here, alone. The clock on my nightstand blinked 9:47 PM in glowing red numbers. I rolled over, squeezing my eyes shut, when I heard it. Eeee-creeeeak. The door. My door. Slowly opening. I sat up, my heart hammering in my chest. The hallway outside was empty—at least, that’s what it looked like. “Sarah?” I called, my voice shaking. No answer. The door, which I had closed tightly, now hung ajar, its hinges whining like something had pushed it open....

 Hi, I’m Ellie, and this is the story of how I almost helped an alien take over my neighborhood. It all started with a tiny yellow stone I found in my backyard. I was digging around in the garden, looking for interesting rocks to add to my collection, when I saw it: a smooth, round stone that seemed to glow faintly, even in the shade. It was bright yellow, almost like a drop of liquid sunlight. “This would be perfect for Mom’s necklace,” I thought. My mom’s a jeweler, and she’s always restoring old pieces of jewelry. She had this one necklace—a delicate silver chain with a missing center stone—that she could never finish because she hadn’t found the right gem. I decided to surprise her. Over the next few days, I worked on the stone in secret. It wasn’t easy. The stone was much harder than it looked, and no matter how much I chipped away, it always stayed smooth and shiny, like it was polishing itself. Weird, right? But I didn’t think too much about it at the time. When I finally f...

Hi, I’m Ellie, and last weekend I got tangled up in the weirdest mystery of my life. It all started with Mr. Whiskers—Mrs. Thornton’s grumpy, fat, gray tabby who lives two houses down. Everyone in the neighborhood knows Mr. Whiskers. He’s famous for hissing at kids and stealing hot dogs off backyard grills. But last week, Mr. Whiskers vanished. Mrs. Thornton knocked on every door on our street, asking if anyone had seen him. “He’s never wandered off like this before!” she cried. “He always comes home for dinner!” I wanted to help, mostly because I felt bad for Mrs. Thornton. So I decided to search for Mr. Whiskers. At first, I didn’t find much. A paw print here, a tuft of fur there. Then I saw something strange . In the yard next door, Tyler—the kid I barely talked to because he was so quiet—was sitting on his porch, petting Mr. Whiskers . The thing was, Mr. Whiskers didn’t look grumpy or annoyed, like he usually did around humans. He was sitting perfectly still, staring up at Tyler l...

 Hi, I’m Ellie, and up until last week, I thought my life was totally normal . You know, homework, soccer practice, and sneaking extra snacks before dinner. But then, weird things started happening at my house. And by "weird," I mean alien-level weird . It started with the basement. For the last few weeks, every night at exactly 9:00 PM, a low, buzzing hum vibrated through the house. It wasn’t loud, but it was the kind of sound that makes the hairs on your arms stand up. I asked my mom about it once, and she said, “Oh, it’s just the pipes settling.” Pipes don’t hum like spaceships. Then there was my dad. Last Friday, he spilled a glass of water on his arm, and instead of grabbing a towel like a normal person, he just stared at it. The water rolled off his skin like it was plastic. The strangest thing of all? They were acting too normal. My parents have always been a little quirky—Mom sings made-up songs while she cooks, and Dad loves cheesy puns. But lately, they were acting...

Get Ready for Secrets of Whisper Pine Dive into an exciting adventure with "Secrets of Whisper Pine," a middle-grade book that will keep you turning the pages! Meet Emily, a city girl who loves the hustle and bustle of city life. But this summer, she's reluctantly spending time at her Uncle John and Aunt Mary’s farm. From the moment she steps out of the car, Emily feels out of place. Farm life is so different, and to make things worse, wild chickens seem to be out to get her, much to the amusement of her aunt and uncle. "Who knew chickens could be so relentless?" Emily mutters, dodging another peck from the feisty Dotty. Just as Emily starts to get used to the farm, a bigger problem comes up. The farm’s prize-winning cow, Daisy, mysteriously disappears one night. Determined to solve the mystery, Emily teams up with her Aunt and Uncle, the wise Mr. Thompson, and his grandson Bill, a cute older boy who knows the farm inside out. Their adventure begins with a tense...

The Savings Squad Chapter 1: The Big Challenge It was the last day of school before summer break, and twelve-year-old Sam, his best friend Liam, and his sister Emma were walking home together, excited about their plans. They wanted to buy a treehouse kit they’d seen online, but the price tag was steep. “We need to save up $200,” Sam said, holding up a printout of the treehouse kit. “But we don’t have that kind of money.” Emma, who was ten and always full of ideas, piped up, “Maybe we can learn how to save money! I’ve heard about it in school, but I’m not sure where to start.” Liam nodded. “Yeah, my dad talks about saving money all the time. We could ask him for advice.” Sam agreed. “Let’s do it. We’ll be the Savings Squad!” Chapter 2: Learning the Basics The next day, they gathered in Liam’s living room, eager to learn from Mr. Anderson, Liam’s dad. He was a financial planner and loved teaching kids about money. “So, you want to save up for a treehouse?” Mr. Anderson asked, smiling. “T...